People are using DNA test results to try to claim citizenship of other countries, report reveals
- The home kits link sections of your DNA with people in other countries
- READ MORE: DNA tests are laying bare the extent of incest in the US
Becoming a citizen of another country traditionally requires documents like birth certificates, photographs and tax records.
But now DNA ancestry tests from the likes of 23AndMe, MyHeritage and Ancestry are being used to support applications too.
The tests – which involve salvia samples sent off in the mail – link sections of your DNA with reference databases of populations in other countries.
For adoptees or people with uncertain family backgrounds, the tests are finally offering proof about their heritage.
It means Brits become citizens of nations such as Ireland, letting them be part of the EU again after Brexit, the Guardian reports.
A test kit collects your saliva, a lab extracts the DNA, and your genetic information is compared to the DNA data of people from around the world
DNA tests work by analysing genetic fragments from a simple cheek swab, or a drop of spit that are inserted into a test tube and sent off in the mail.
They claim to be able to provide insights on everything from ancestry to personality, hair colour and disease risk.
Professor Turi King, director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at Bath University, said citizenship applications using DNA testing 'will only grow'.
'The more people take tests and the more people find out their ancestry and who their biological parents are, the more they can use that evidence to get citizenship of a particular country,' she told the Guardian.
DNA evidence is helping to prove that people are entitled to Irish citizenship through a parent, a spokesperson for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
British man Richard Sayers used evidence from a DNA ancestry test to discover the identity of his father – an Irishman born in Galway.
The results allowed Mr Sayers – who is originally from Liverpool – to gain Irish citizenship and rectify his birth certificate last year.
British man Richard Sayers (pictured) used evidence from a DNA ancestry test to discover the identity of his father - an Irishman born in Galway
The tests - which involve salvia samples sent off in the mail - link sections of your DNA with reference databases of populations in other countries
After Brexit stripped the UK of its EU status, becoming a citizen of an EU country once more has allowed him and his family to easily emigrate to Spain.
He and his family sold their house in Formby, Merseyside and moved to La Manga back in January, although it's unclear how much time he spends in Ireland.
Mr Sayers is one of many featured on the BBC show 'DNA Family Secrets', presented by Professor King and Stacey Dooley.
'I went on the programme because I had no idea who my dad was or where he was from... I just wanted some answers,' he said.
Similarly, Arizona man John Portmann was awarded Irish citizenship after finding out he's '100 per cent Irish' from a DNA test.
Professor Turi King, director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at Bath University (pictured), said citizenship applications using DNA testing 'will only grow'
Stacey Dooley (left) and Professor Turi King at the University of Bath present the BBC series 'DNA Family Secrets'
Arizona man John Portmann was awarded Irish citizenship after finding out he's '100 per cent Irish' from a DNA test
Mr Portmann was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1963 but was taken into care at a nunnery as a baby and never knew his birth parents, CNN reported.
After getting his results, he worked with a 'DNA detective' to identify his biological mother and father.
After a drawn-out process with the Irish embassy, his citizenship was granted and Mr Portmann believes he is the first person to be granted Irish citizenship from just a DNA test.
'I want to inspire other adoptees to their constitutional right to citizenship,' said Portmann, a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia.
While every individual case is different, the results of a DNA test can offer crucial data that would otherwise be lost to history.
Arizona man John Portmann was awarded Irish citizenship after finding out he's '100 per cent Irish' from a DNA test. He's pictured with his biological first cousin in Dublin
They can help trace biological relatives, offering key information for people of a mysterious origin, although depending on country they may not be accepted as sole proof.
According to the UK's Home Office, DNA testing can be submitted to support a British passport application but not on its own.
'DNA evidence on its own does not provide enough grounds to issue or refuse a passport,' the Home Office website says.
'It must be used together with other supporting evidence linking the customer to the claimed parents.'
Meanwhile the US government says: 'Genetic testing helps verify a genetic – but not gestational – relationship in the absence of sufficient evidence to establish such a relationship.'
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